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General Questions and Answers

• Where is the Jughandle project located?
  
  
  • The project is located in Oregon City, Oregon.
  • On Highway 213 (Hwy 213) from the I-205 Interchange to the Redland Road overcrossing, on Washington Street west of Hwy 213, Clackamas River Drive east of Hwy 213.
    
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• What is the purpose of the project?
  
  
  • The purpose of the Jughandle project is to improve operations and safety on Hwy 213 from the I-205 interchange to south of the Hwy 213/Washington Street/Clackamas River Drive signalized intersection. It is also designed to address the current problem of traffic on Hwy 213 backing up onto the I-205 interchange and highway. This project will also allow for: growth and economic development on adjacent "Regional Center" property as outlined in the 2040 Metro Plan; planned employment and residential development within two urban grown boundary (UGB) areas; and economic development opportunities of industrial lands around Clackamas Community College and in the Beavercreek Road areas.
    
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• Why is the project expected to make travel on Hwy 213 safer?
  
  
  • The improvement will reduce the number of vehicular conflicts at the Hwy 213/Washington Street/Clackamas River Drive intersection by limiting the intersection to only right-turn movements and eliminating the lane changes associated with the southbound left-turn at the Hwy 213/Washington Street/Clackamas River Drive intersection.
    
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• Who will directly benefit from this project?
  
  
  • I-205/Highway 213 is one of the busiest interchange areas on the I-205 corridor and tens of thousands of taxpayers will benefit daily. The interchange serves not only Oregon City and I-205 in the Portland Metro area, but also provides a primary access for outlying communities including Beavercreek, Redland, Carus, Mulino, Liberal, Molalla, Colton, Silverton, Scotts Mills, Monitor, Marquam and Mount Angel.
    
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• Will bicyclists and pedestrians benefit from this project?
  
  
  • Pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to safely travel to points east and west of Hwy 213 by passing underneath the expressway on the realigned Washington Street-Clackamas River Drive. Sidewalks and 6-8 foot wide shoulders that accommodate bicyclists are also included in the project designs.
    
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• Will the project create jobs?
  
  
  • Over 100 positions are expected to result or directly benefit from project construction in a variety of employment sectors, including construction labor and materials, manufacturing, industrial, equipment supply, and professional services.
    
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• Has future growth been factored into the planned improvements?
  
  
  • Yes, the proposed project improvements will provide the interchange area with 20-30% excess traffic capacity for the future.
    
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• Given the upcoming improvements, why was the section of Highway 213 near Washington Street included in the recent repaving effort?
  
  
  • In the 2008-2009 construction season, ODOT completed a project to repave Highway 213 from I-205 to Conway Drive. The project included repairing a sinking spot on the highway at the Washington Street intersection. The sinking in the highway at this location was a safety concern and needed to be fixed in order to protect the safety of the driving public. Repaving the roadways is a routine maintenance operation to maintain the service life of the pavement surface.
    
    In 2008-2009 during the repavement operations on Highway 213, the City of Oregon City was beginning preliminary work to design improvements to the Highway 213/Washing Street intersection, "Jughandle" project. At that time, there was no available funding to construct the "Jughandle" project and ODOT did not have the means to anticipate that the 2009 legislature would pass a bill to provide construction funding for significant projects like the Jughandle.
    
    Because of poor pavement conditions of Highway 213 from I-205 to Conway Drive, ODOT proceeded with their pavement rehabilitation project to preserve the pavement surface. Then with the passage of the 2009 Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, funding has now become available to construct the Oregon City Jughandle Project, which will result in significant traffic and safety improvements.
    
    ODOT and the City have carefully designed the Highway 213 Jughandle improvements to account for potential future growth in the area, so that the improvements made now will be a lasting investment.
    
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• What is being done to minimize traffic impacts during construction?
   
  • Construction activities that involve temporary travel lane closures on Highway 213 are limited to nighttime hours. With the exception of a 104-hour full closure, the contractor is required to keep all travel lanes on Highway 213 open to traffic during the daytime (5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sundays).

For more information about the strategy to construct the improvements while keeping traffic moving, please refer to the Travel During Construction fact sheet.

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• Why are you planning to close Hwy 213 between Washington Street and the interstate ramps for 4 days?
  
  
  • Constructing the new Highway 213 bridge immediately adjacent to the existing bridge over the railroad tracks while minimizing delay to motorists will be one of the most challenging aspects of the Jughandle Project. Oregon City and ODOT explored numerous options to determine what construction method would have the least impact on local traffic conditions. Any traditional staged construction option would require closing 2 existing travel lanes on Highway 213 for 12-16 months throughout the construction period (e.g., night, day, week, and weekend). A staged construction option would have significant impact to the transportation system and result in lengthy traffic backups during several hours of an average day.
    
    The selected rapid bridge construction method will enable the contractor to keep all lanes open on Highway 213 during the daytime for the majority of the construction process. Temporary lane closures on Highway 213 will be limited to nighttime hours only. The new bridge will be built adjacent to the highway and then slid into place with hydraulic lifts during a 4-day (104-hour) road closure. Though the 4-day closure will pose an inconvenience, Oregon City and ODOT believe this is far preferable to the alternative that would cause motorists a 12-16 month long series of detours and construction delays on this heavily traveled highway.
    
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